On the subject of 16-bit action-RPGs

[Sarge]

I gotta throw a shout out to Monster World IV. Absolutely fantastic game there. And that's a good comparison for Popful Mail, definitely. It's basically a Monster World game.

[nightrnr]

I love this topic. And the screenshots make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Those import games are going to my everdrives as soon as I find the time for them.

I think I've exhausted the Genesis ARPG library (US carts anyways) but I definitely need to play the SNES Mana games, as FF Adventure is an absolute favorite.

[MrPopo]

Seiken Densetsu 3 is basically Secret of Mana dialed up to 10. It looks fantastic. It plays well enough, although again, it's not as consistent with hit detection because it's running a sort of Mass Effect-style hit/miss percentage in the background like SoM does. So you could "hit" but not hit at all. Still, it's totally worth playing.

Definitely. One thing I recommend if you do get around to playing it is that there are three major antagonists that are linked to pairs of characters. The first character you select determines your final antagonist, and if you have the other character in that pair you get more story bits. So Angela-Duran, Lise-Hawk, and Carlie-Kevin are the pairs.

[Xeogred]

Lise is the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrywwZ7oL2w

[Exhuminator]

Popful Mail is aight. I think it is one of Falcom's weaker efforts though, or at least the Sega CD version is. The difficulty has been tweaked and increased.

Many years ago I was playing Popful Mail on SEGA CD, and I was wondering why the hell the game seemed harder than it needed to be. Then I realized; Working Designs. Ugh.

First thing that comes to mind is the Xak series by the unparalleled Micro Cabin.

I am very interested in these. I'm pretty sure I have English translated versions laying around somewhere. Have you tried this one?:

Also essential - the two Legend of Xanadu games on PC Engine CD.

How difficult are these to play in Japanese when you don't know Japanese?

War of the Dead is a creepy atmospheric horror ARPG on PCE.

That looks awesome.

King Colossus I beat earlier this year.

I'm very interested in playing that one and Landstalker.

Light Crusader is one of Treasure's weirdest games. It feels distinctly un-Treasure-like.

That's how I feel about Alcahest. For being made by Hal, it sure doesn't seem like it.

Seiken Densetsu 3 has the best ARPG combat system of all time.

I'll have to give that one another try. I played it a few years ago for about two hours, and found myself very bored. I guess I wasn't in the right frame of mind for it. SD3 is so highly lauded it must have just been me. I was definitely impressed with its graphics though.

I think I've exhausted the Genesis ARPG library (US carts anyways) but I definitely need to play the SNES Mana games, as FF Adventure is an absolute favorite.

There are a fair amount of SFC action-RPGs translated into English. Of the ones I can remember:

Crystal Beans: From Dungeon Explorer (I beat this one 5/10)
Ganpuru: Gunman's Proof
Rokudenashi Blues
Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun
Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (I beat this one 4/10)
Ys V: Ushinawareta Suna no Miyako Kefin (I beat this one 7/10)
Chaos Seed

There is one particular fan translated SFC action-RPG that blew my mind. It is absolutely my all time favorite SFC game:

http://fantasyanime.com/squaresoft/fmgh.htm

I can't recommend it enough to anyone who enjoys action-RPGs or mech games.

[Sarge]

I thought about throwing that one in, despite knowing you'd already played it. Gotta preach about it! (Seriously, I ended up diving in on your recommendation, and it's one of my favorite SFC games.)

[BoneSnapDeez]

@Exhuminator

Xak on Super Famicom is a port of the first game, and a pretty solid one at that. The combat has been changed to be more console-like. There's a partial fan translation that will provide you with English text for items and whatnot but not dialogue.

The Legend of Xanadu II has a pretty decent walkthrough out there, but the same can't be said for the first game. I've heard rumblings about translation patches for one or both of these so maybe wait until then? These games mark the "end" of the Dragon Slayer saga by the way. Yes, the series has technically seen other games since these but they're either ports, remakes, or spin-offs that didn't involve the original series creator. And speaking of 16-bit RPGs and Dragon Slayer, you should also check out part five: Sorcerian. There's an American PC release by Sierra. It's a sidescrolling ARPG sorta reminiscent of the previous game in the series (Legacy of the Wizard) but here you move around an entire party at once. It's pretty damn fun and I can't believe I forgot to mention it in my previous post.

[BoneSnapDeez]

To go back to the first post of this thread...
I really dig Arcus Odyssey. It has a Gauntlet and Soul Blazer type vibe. You can also get the game on Super Famicom under the name Arcus Spirits.
It's actually the fourth game in the series. The first three are not ARPGs - parts one and three are first-person dungeon crawls while part two is a traditional JRPG. This trio first appeared on Japanese computers, though there was a Mega CD compilation released later on:


I like Brandish a lot (been meaning to try the PC Engine CD port...) even with it's weird rotating camera. Part two is better than the first game, though it does play about the same so, yeah, if the first didn't agree with you this one won't either. There's also a "hard mode" Expert version available on a separate cart (one of these exists for Ys V as well).
Dat artwork:

The best 16-bit ARPG is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

[Gunstar Green]

Yeah, I've always called Arcus Odyssey "Japanese Gauntlet." It's a classic Wolf Team game in the sense that it's fun but rough around the edges.

[Xeogred]

You're killing me Exhum.

Bored and SD3... SEE THE DOCTOR ASAP!